Because 18 shouldn't mean you're on your own.
Every year, thousands of Los Angeles County's young adults experience homelessness with no support system. We don't run a building or wait for them. We go to the transitional homes and shelters where they already live, and we teach what nobody taught them. Your gift makes sure someone's there.
A Los Angeles 501(c)(3) · serving young adults ages 18–24 in northern Los Angeles County
THE FORGOTTEN MIDDLE
Between 18 and 21, the system says, "You're an adult now." Then it lets go.
1 in 5
young people who age out of foster care will face homelessness before they turn 21. Old enough to be on their own, too young to have learned how. That's the gap we exist to fill.
WHY WE'RE DIFFERENT
We don't have a building.
That's the point.
Every other program in LA has a campus, a shelter, or a waiting room. We found that asking a young adult to get themselves across the city to a place they've never been is how you lose them. So we go to them instead, into the housing and drop-in centers where they already are, alongside the partners who already have their trust.
No campus, no bus trip, no waiting room. We bring the workshop into the place they already live.
WE COME TO THEM
The young adults do not need to participate in workshops to eat with us. We believe in trust first.
NO STRINGS ATTACHED
Our Executive Director is at every workshop, meaning the participants see the same face each time.
THE SAME FACE, EACH TIME
MEET OUR FOUNDER
"I worked at an after school program, but the people who touched my heart the most were the young adults who were too old to attend the program anymore. They had nowhere to go and no one to turn to. I couldn't do nothing."
Alison "Ali" Bodager
Founder and Executive Director | In the room at every workshop
Ali spent three years on Skid Row watching young people get handed independence with no one to show them how to hold it. She built Jacaranda Rising so the support wouldn't stop at a birthday. She still attends every one of Jacaranda's workshops.
RISING, IN THEIR OWN WORDS
years showing up in Northern Los Angeles County
5
young adults reached through our services
160+
workshops delivered in person, and counting
65+
"They laugh with us. We talk about everything, from what kind of cars we like to TV shows. They treat us like people and like we have something important to offer."
- Nyquis, program participant
We asked a partner, a case manager, and a young adult in the program to describe Jacaranda Rising in three words.
"A hopeful path forward"
- Jodi, partner at
OYHFS
"Encouraging, amazing, passionate"
- Alexis, Case Manager at TVFS
"Hopeful, encouraging, supportive"
- Nyquis, program participant
TRUSTED WHERE IT COUNTS
The agencies who serve these young adults let us in the room.
We're not competing with the big organizations. We fill the gaps they don't have the staffing or funding to cover, inside their own programs, for the same young adults they already serve.
TAY Drop-In Center and Housing - Serving Los Angeles County for 30 years
Clubhouse and Housing - Serving TAY (18-21) in Foster Care for 120 Years
"Any partnership I'm doing, I talk about her all the time."
Jodi Reneaud · Optimist Youth Homes & Family Services
